Tag Archive: women

Millions of people (mostly women) are swooning over Pinterest. If you have never visited this site, Pinterest is best described as a virtual pin-board where users find photos and videos on the site and “repin” them to be on their “boards.” There is a wide variety of pins for people to see; from fashion, art, home decor, weddings, and beauty.

I have been an avid Pinterest user for about 5 months, but I have problems with it. Big problems.

Pinterest does not have pins for real people. Being in my early 20s, I have some really big dreams. I yearn for the day to marry prince charming, start my own family, own my own house, and have as much jewelry and clothes as I can fit in my warehouse-sized closet. I am not the only one my age who would love to have all of these things some time in my life, but Pinterest gives women my age a whole lot of pressure.

This site makes me feel like life isn’t as great with love handles and a small choice of pumps. I’ve spent way too much time oodling over pictures of “perfect bodies” which have almost convinced me that my assets just aren’t up to par. Almost. 🙂

Comparing life to the mansions seen in the southern Hamptons, and the designer clothes models are wearing can really take a toll on women.

Such a small percentage of people will be able to afford such a wedding. Why do weddings have to be such a huge deal? Why is long hair all the rage when short hair is just as beautiful? I don’t understand why a site like this is so popular when it’s so hard to relate to. Maybe it’s the jealousy that women are so attracted to.

What’s the deal with all of these women pinning dainty recipes and nifty tricks for cleaning the house? I think it’s complete bull that gender roles are reaching back into our society. Relationships are very different today than they were when Mrs. Clever was around, thank goodness. We love our stay-at-home dads and same-sex marriages. We can’t get enough of our CEO moms and famous cake baking dad’s, right? We have come so far from gender inequality, why are we going backwards again?

I remember when I was 12. I started to really care about my hair and I got mad when my dad threw away my jeans with the rips in them (thanks, Dad. Always lookin’ out for your girl!). I started to think boys were cute, (EW. GROSS.) and I did what ever I could to look cool.

I’m sure many girls from my generation can relate to me, but there are a whopping 50 million girls that have such a distorted 12-year-old life that they couldn’t even fathom having a life like mine.

I tried to grow up as fast as possible when I was 12. These 50 million girls who are taken advantage of by that age have no choice but to let their self-worth drown into a downward spiral of complete and utter nothingness. They are convinced to have no purpose in life but to give up their body for possible HIV infected men only to support her family that she was not ready to have.

My amazing sister, Alena, is serving in the Peace Corps in Africa as we speak. She works with AIDS/HIV outreach and also created a program for young girls to feel empowered. It’s called Camp G.L.O.W (Girls Leading Our World. Isn’t that awesome?). I have some really cool sisters. You should be jealous.

There she is! Alena's host family gave her the name Lindelwa. In Zulu, it translates to "the one we've been waiting for."

Anyway, Alena has told me many stories about the sexism that exists in her village. I know this is real. This video is not exaggerating. Actually, I think it’s downplaying what is actually going on.

I am encouraging you to donate what you can to help spread The Girl Effect whether it’s empowering a young girl, teaching gender equality, or even giving money.

This does not only affect 12-year-old girls. This affects boys, moms, dads, villages, and countries.